The knell has tolled for Bentley’s W12 engine. By spring 2024, two decades after its debut in the original Continental GT, production will end and Bentley's resources will switch to producing more hybrid powertrains as the firm hastily approaches its electrified era.
Naturally, there’s a big send-off planned in the shape of its largest ever outputs, with 740bhp and 738lb ft squeezed out of the 18 final engines. Those will be found exclusively beneath the taut lines of Mulliner’s handcrafted Batur coupé, which costs almost £2 million and has long since sold out. Because of course…
Maybe you’re looking at the W12’s more relatable finale, though. Sure, the Batur is the latest example of an illustrious line of exclusive coachbuilt Crewe specials, but I’d argue that if most of us were to idly sketch the profile of ‘a Bentley’ it’d resemble a limo not unlike the latest Bentley Flying Spur.
The first-generation Spur spawned a Speed iteration in 2008, using a 602bhp W12 to breach the 200mph barrier. This is the first and seemingly only time the latest-gen car enjoys the same treatment, only here the Speed supersedes the standard Flying Spur W12 (while an S iteration replaces the stock V8 further down the range), and if you want an underwhelming headline, then nothing vital has changed in the process. There’s certainly no additional power or – more peculiar still – speed. But anyone craving an extra slice of either after even a short spell in the car, front seat or back, probably possesses the kind of insatiable appetite that’s already accrued the wealth necessary for a Batur.
